LHC to make Queen Elizabeth-II party in plea to "bring back Koh-i-Noor"
Justice Khalid has overruled the objections made by registrar on the petition for Koh-i-Noor
LAHORE (Web Desk) - The Lahore High Court’s Justice Khalid Mahmood Khan has accepted the petition for bringing back Koh-i-Noor diamond from Queen Elizabeth-II for hearing.
According to the details, a plea was filed by Barrister Javed Iqbal Jaffry in Lahore High Court to bring back the diamond Koh-i-Noor from United Kingdom’s Queen Elizabeth-II. In the petition he said that Great Britain “forcibly and under duress” appropriated Koh-i-Noor from Daleep Singh who was the grandson of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. He said in his petition “The diamond became part of the crown of incumbent Queen Elizabeth-II at the time of her crowing in 1953. Queen Elizabeth-II has no right on the Koh-i-Noor diamond.”
He further wrote in his petition that “Koh-i-Noor was not legitimately acquired. Grabbing and snatching it was a private, illegal act which is justified by no law or ethics. A wrong is a wrong. It does not become righteous or right by passage of time or even acquiescence”.
Last year in December, the petition was rejected by registrar high court terming it un-maintainable and out of the jurisdiction of the court.
India has been demanding the diamond for long as it was found in medieval times in Kollur mine in Andhra Pradesh’s Guntur district. The diamond was owned by several Mughal emperors and Indian Maharajas before it was acquired by British Empire.
Meanwhile, Britain has consistently rejected Indian claims on the diamond. In an interview with Indian television NDTV during his visit to India in 2010 the Current British Prime Minister David Cameron said "I think I am afraid to say, to disappoint all your viewers, it is going to have to stay put."
